He was born
In the rainforest
Under the arms
Of a big old tree
By the river
Julaymba
On its way
To the sea
They cut the birth cord
In ceremony
And tied it to that tree
Jankiba
Jankiba
Living (in) my memory

Mother and child
Were forced to go
To the island of the palm
They cut the cord
To his land, to his tree
Cut the cord
To his mother tongue
Jankiba
They changed your life
Changed your life
Changed your life
Forever
Jankiba
They maimed your life
Cut the cord
With a six year knife

So Jankiba
Was mission bound
Till he became a man
Worked hard there
Earned his share
Found his language again
But when he went
To live his dream
Buy back his land, his tree
He was told
You can’t do that
You’re not wanted here

So he gathered up
Us kids one day
All of his family
Told the story
Of his river tree
The place his heart
Will always be
Please, children whatever you do
Take back that place
one day
And though the years have
tumbled by
His tree still stands

Karanba (Bennett Walker)

Kuku Yalanji elder, Karanba, was born in Mossman in 1948 to Wilma Buchanan and Norman Walker. Karanba spent his first 15 years at the Daintree Mission until Norman fell ill and Karanba took over his job at the Daintree slaughteryards to support the family. He did not have the opportunity to return to school, but he went on to manage cane farms around the Daintree and Mossman districts for many years, during which time he also married Louise. In 1983 he began 18 years of employment as a much valued ranger with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Today, Karanba works closely with his children, Linc, Brandon, Larissa and Juan, in their Cooya Beach business, Yaba Yabaju (Cultural Habitat Tours), and spends as much time as he can with his many grandchildren.

Mike Prociv

Countless numbers of Mike’s photographs have been reproduced in a wide variety of publications, bringing Wet Tropics wildlife and landscapes to prominence. In 2006 Mike commenced publishing a series of his own books about the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The first won the Queensland Multimedia Awards and the second was taken up as a high school text, which for Mike is his greatest personal achievement. He now looks forward to producing more books to further showcase the beauty and natural history of this very special corner of the Australian continent.